Top Ten Encounters: Weeks 7&8

July 1-14

1) Woke up to a cockroach crawling on me in the middle of the night.

2) Found rat poop in my room and hear them run back and forth in the ceiling above me all day and night!

3) Gabe, Amy, and I started language lessons with Georgette, a woman from the church. We are slowly but surely learning some french.

4) Soccer! I got to play soccer with some church members who are very good at the game. I had a blast trying to keep up with them. At one point during the game I just stopped and watched in awe as they played and a gorgeous sunset painted the sky behind them. I had to pinch myself to make sure what I was experiencing was real!

5) Elephantitis. While walking through town one day I saw a man sitting on a step with both feet extremely swollen. I have seen this disease on TV and in magazines and couldn't believe I was seeing it right before my eyes. The man had wrapped several clothes tightly around different parts of his legs to stop the swelling. I could tell it was extremely difficult and painful to walk. I doubt he will ever be able to be treated or receive any healthcare at the level he needs. So so sad.

6) Burkina colors! We visited a couple villages last week and I couldn’t get over the rich colors here. I tried to take pictures but it is impossible to capture the beauty of the green crops and trees growing out of the deep brown/red soil and meeting the blue sky on the horizon.

7) Market of Diebougou. I had quite a time trying to guess what half of the vegetables and leaves were that were for sale and even a more fun time trying to guess what on earthe they use some the objects for that they were selling. It was fun to take a few laps around the market and see what is valued here compared to back home. 

8) Day poolside. Somehow I managed to be dropped off at what is called the American Rec Center for a day in Ouga. It was my first day alone and away from everything this summer and I thoroughly enjoyed the break. I treated myself to a mango shake, a cappucino, many phone calls back home, and managed to get a pretty nasty sunburn that was more than worth it!  

9) Meeting the fam. Patrice, Celine, and their youngest two kids returned from Togo where they had been at seminary and have finished moving back into their house right next door in our compound. It is fun waking up to the sound of their kids laughing and things are quite a bit busier and louder around here now. I can already see what a man of God Patrice is and woman of God Celine is. I look forward to getting to know them better!

10) Lots of downtime with not much excitement. I really didn’t encounter many new things these last two weeks. Things have really settled down and I find myself with several  hours each day of quiet time. Although the days do get long I have truly heard Jesus speak through the silence louder than ever. Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

A Broken Pot

July 13

So far during my time here I have been under the impression that when I go home I will somehow leave everything I have experienced in Africa. In my head the world I have lived in for 20 years at home is entirely separate from this foreign land. It has been great to come and see what is here, learn about the culture, and grow closer to my Jesus but on August 3^rd I will leave and go back to my normal life. Sure I hope to take some things with me like the amazing stories of people I met and the many pictures I took. But subconsciously I had decided that I would leave everything else here. No need to bring the hard things back.

But I now know I do not have a choice. Every part of Africa that has touched me is coming back with me—including the red dirt that has sticking to the bottom of my sandals.

 I made this discovery as we drove through the capital city of Burkina Faso, Ougadougou. Along side of every road are tiny shops with various items for sale. As we drove I noticed for the first time the large amount of clay pots available. Rows and rows of them and shop after shop. Along the way a particular large pot cought my eye. It had been pulled to the side away from the others. This pot was broken. A large crack ran down the middle and a big chunk out of it’s side was missing. All of a sudden I was overwhelmed with the similarity this pot had with Africa. How both of them shared brokenness.

Images of the Kibera slum and malnourished children came to mind and I didn’t fight the tears that came to my eyes. I was hit once again by how very broken everything is from governement systems, hospital systems, educational systems, countries, tribes, villages, families, relationships, spirituality, to people. My heart hurt so much today for Africa.

I am still here and waking up to the poverty and brokeness every morning. So it is all still so real to me. But the pot made me realize that I will not leave any of the memories behind. There will be things in America that will remind me of the of Africa as well. I cannot just separate my time here from my life in America. I honestly don’t want to. I want the changes that have been made in me and my world view and perspective on life to follow me home. I don’t ever want to forget this summer. I don’t ever want to forget Africa. And now I know I never will.

Africa

		Africa: My New Backyard VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Daddy Uppease

July 10

My little friend Liam loves it when people hold him. Especially his daddy. He runs over to his dad, puts his hands in the air, and says “daddy uppease!”  Whether it is the kids that are all taller than Liam that run over to touch his blonde hair, or some chickens coming towards him, or if Liam has fallen and gotten hurt he knows that if he runs to his daddy he will be lifted up out of danger into strong safe arms.

I think we all feel like Liam at times. I know I do especially right now. I have hit a point where I cannot sleep at night, I am always tired, I have a constant headache, woke up today with a cough and low grade fever, and I am simply culturally exhausted. I have spent the last month alone here and have been away from home for so long. I can tell it is wearing on me. All I want to do is hold out my arms to my heavenly father and say, “daddy up please.” Please lift me out of my uncomfortable circumstances. Please hold me in your safe arms until it is all over. Please let me rest my head on your shoulder. Please make it all better.

This is not the first time in my life I have felt this way and I know it will not be the last. The problem that I have is forgetting that I have the option of having my Father pick me up. I try to stand my ground and fight the battle on my own. I should learn by now that is a fatal mistake.

In our lives it is so important to run to God first in times of trial. He has all of the strength needed to lift us out of our situation. All we need to do is ask. Just throw up our arms in surrender and say “daddy uppease.” It’s so simple that a two-yr-old can master it but difficult for adults to practice because it requires being humble and admitting we are at the end of ourselves and can not go any further on our own.

But in all honesty that is the best place to be. It is at the end of ourselves and our strength where we see the glory of God shine. When we are empty He fills us up and His power, strength, and love are what people see in us and what sustain us. At our end He begins.

John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Top Ten Encounters: Week 6

June 24-30

1) Held African baby in church!...and he peed on me.  I forgot about the whole no diaper thing!

2) Eceeded 100 hours in transit since leaving home. This includes travel in cars, vans, trucks, and planes.

3) Carried a basin of water on my head! I helped prepare part of the meal for the pastors conference and the ladies all laughed as I carried water from the well and sloshed part of it all over me.

4) Participated in a video of 9 of us stating John 3:26 in our native tounge. It was amazing hearing the word of God spoken in so many languages!

5) Ate tot. It is the staple food here served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It seems to be the exact same dish as ugali we had in Kenya.

6) Gabe, Amy, and Liam! On the 27 we picked up a missonary family from Florida who are staying just down the street from us. I have loved their company! They will be in Burkina for the rest of my time here and we will fly out together.

7) Dagara church! As usual the worship was so fun to experience as they danced and clapped and sang so loudly! Because two pastors from America were visiting I got to hear a sermon in English before it was translated into French and then Dagara.

8) Hot shower. Because of the heat I have loved my cold showers but one day that we were at the guest house in Ouaga I gave it a go and forgot what I had been missing! It was my first hot shower in about 2 weeks.

9) Power outage. I experienced my first of what will be many power outages. The funny thing is is that the water is pumped by the electricity on this compound so when we are out of power we are out of water too. It feels just like camping!

10) Homesickness. I have to be honest and say that this week I have missed home more than any other time so far. When we were at the airport picking up Gabe and Amy I was just imaging hopping on a plane and flying home. It is good for me to spend so much time away though so I remember that what I have back home is worth missing. And I'm loving my time here and wouldn't trade it! Homesick or not!

4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I must say the holiday has a lot less luster when you are not celebrating in America. But I could not let the date pass without some remembrance!

I did my best to make something like an apple pie. It turned into apple "pizza" but was actually very tasty! A missionary couple, Gabe and Amy, and their 2yr old son, Liam, that live down the road came to Lynn's home to celebrate with us. I finished out the night with a game of UNO with Mimi. I tried to explain fireworks to her but the whole concept couldn't make it past the barrier of my limited French. It was the first 4th without fireworks for me and I really did miss them! However, God apparently felt sorry for me and treated me to some of his fireworks and I got to watch a show of lightning in the sky as a storm rolled in right before bed.

After being away for so long I feel like celebrating my home country even more. God bless America!

Sobering Selfishness

July 3

It is now less than 5 weeks until I will arrive home. The time is not exactly flying by but is not crawling either. I have been spending more and more time looking through photos of friends and family that I brought with. As soon as I hang up from talking with someone from the states I look forward to the next call. I call home about every three days.

Knowing I have already missed 8 weeks of being home this summer and still have 4 to go is somewhat of a challenging thought. I miss familiar faces and easy conversations and encouraging hugs. Believe me, I have spent more than my share of time being quiet and a little depressed and plain old crabby becasue I just long to be surrounded by my family and friends again.

As usual, God did not let me sit in self pity for too long. I feel ashamed and so selfish at how self-centered I have been the last few weeks. I have spent so much time missing home and have probably missed opportunities to learn something new here or start a new friendship. I have been so concerned about myself that I didn’t notice the lives of those around me. A few days ago something clicked and I was overwhelmed as I let the reality of the lives of the people I have met sink in. Here are stories from people that I have only met and some who I have spent much time with. I know the names and faces of these people and now I have come to know their stories.

5 yr old boy. A son whose mother was HIV + and never told a soul. She died during the birth of her son and no one thought to test him until now—and now is too late. He will not live another 2 months. With treatment he could have easily lived a long life.

18 yr old girl. A daughter and big sister who lost both her father and little sister. Because children belong to their fathers in this culture as soon as her father died, she had to leave her mother and live with her father’s brothers. In a way she has lost her entire family.

29 yr old woman. A mother who suffers from depression because she lost a child during birth because an emergency C-section was needed but was not available.

8 yr old boy. This big brother is wasting away from HIV because his parents rarely bring him to the hospital for treatments and never follow up with medications.

13 yr old girl. A daughter spending day and night at the hospital instead of in school to care for her mother who is now paralyzed for the rest of her life because the cause was not discovered in time.

10 yr old girl. A daughter whose mother died from malaria.

34 yr old man. A father who was killed in a moto accident. He leaves behind 3 small children and his wife.

4yr old girl. A very much missed sister who died of malaria.

11 yr old girl. A daughter and sister who was in a multiple pile up moto accident which killed everyone involved except her—including her entire immediate family. She underwent major surgery and was sitting alone in the ICU struggling to survive because none of her extended family has found out yet and it will take days for them to reach the hospital.

These people have lost their family members forever. They will never be able to talk to them again on this earth. I am thankful that it is not too late for me to encourage them and share the love of Christ with them before I return. I am also so thankful that I am able to go back to my family and friends. They are still here and well.

Please remember these stories and pray for the people they belong to.